by Ryan Haughey
Deafening blows to snare, tom, and cymbal alike accompany low tuned guitars drenched in feedback on this album. Vancouver group Woolworm follow many hard-core tropes while simultaneously sending out shoegaze vibes. Deserve To Die is a masterful display of songwriting talent and energy-invoking recorded performance.
With a burst of heat, the album starts out with a lineup of fiery songs, each one better than the last. Though the lyrics can be depressing, every track has a unique twist that draws listeners in deep.
The second song on the album is just under two minutes long. “Seer” is fast paced, driving forward underneath the low and crooning vocals, leading up to the huge leap that rings sheer musical pleasure. The vocals run a riff along with the main guitar line as everything seems to get a little faster.
The next track, “Judgement Day” sits in a reclined groove, steadily painting over the catchy chord progression with pensive lyrics. The song alternates back and forth between heavy and soft, climaxing in vocalist Giles Roy belting out the chorus at top range.
Deserve To Die sparks an intensity in the listener and then flows along subtly until it’s ready to take the lead through even more intense audio.
The title track begins with shredding guitar and bass half time over the chord progression while the drums keep a type of dripping reverb with cymbals. Once the song takes off, the simple form catches the listener and begins to burn. The lyrics express guilt and pain, the words of one who is burdened by their own mistakes. The pinnacle of this song bursts into flames as screams ripe with agony continue on with the lyrics.
As the song comes to a close, the fire dies down, but doesn’t go out. The latter half of the album follows the precedent placed by the first half. Woolworm’s album is built to satisfy exactly what the listener needs after each song with the next. Deserve To Die proves that hardcore doesn’t always need to be heavy.